The employer requires approval to be a sponsor & employ overseas workers. When approved, your sponsorship will be valid for three years during which time you can employ the number of overseas workers as approved by the Immigration Department in your sponsorship application.

We will help you complete application forms and provide supporting documentation to satisfy the Department that your business:

• Is lawfully and actively operating
• Will be the direct employer of the temporary business entrant
• Can meet the sponsorship obligations
• Will advance Australia’s skills through technology or training, and
• Has a satisfactory record of compliance with immigration laws.

The following specific requirements must be met for your approval to be granted.

Lawfully Actively Operating Business

The employer must be lawfully operating a business that is actually and actively engaged in business activities.

Direct Employer

The sponsor must be the direct employer of the employee. The direct employer is usually responsible for such things as:

• Payment of salaries
• PAYG tax instalments
• Superannuation
• Conditions of employment
• Day-to-day supervision of the employee.

The 457 visa requires the visa holder's sponsor to be the direct employer.  Some characteristics of a direct employer include: provision of your work environment, tools and equipment; allocation and supervision of your work; occupational health and safety responsibilities (including Workcover); determining your salary, deducting your tax, making your superannuation contributions; and determining your conditions of employment including your conditions of appointment and dismissal.

If your direct employer is not currently your sponsor (example: labour-hire firms), your employer has the option to apply to the nearest departmental business centre to be an approved sponsor and to nominate you as an employee for a skilled position within their business.

Clean Immigration Record

To meet this requirement:

• There must be nothing adverse known about the business
• If the employer has previously sponsored employees to Australia, they must have a satisfactory record of complying with immigration laws
• The activities of the business must not be illegal in Australia.

Advance Skills of Existing Australian Workforce
The 457 employer must also demonstrate that their Australian business has a satisfactory record of, or a demonstrated commitment towards, training Australian citizens and Australian permanent residents according to Government benchmarks.
We will assist you to compile the correct documents demonstrating your company commitment to training.
Depending on the length of time the applicant has traded in Australia, the applicant must demonstrate that they either meet the training benchmarks (if the applicant has traded for 12 months or more), or they have an auditable plan to meet the specified benchmarks (if the applicant has traded for less than 12 months).

Training Benchmarks
The business is not required to demonstrate that they are an industry leader in training. The business is required to show that the training that has been, and continues to be, provided to employees who are Australian citizens and Australian permanent residents is related to the purpose of the business.

The training benchmarks for an established business are:
A) Recent expenditure, by the business, to the equivalent of at least 2% of the payroll of the business, in payments allocated to an industry training fund, and a commitment, by the business, to maintain expenditure in each fiscal year, to that level, for the term of approval as a sponsor.

OR

B) Recent expenditure, by the business, to the equivalent of at least 1% of the payroll of the business, in the provision of training to employees of the business, and a commitment, by the business, to maintain expenditure in each fiscal year, to that level, for the term of approval as a sponsor.
 
Expenditure that can count towards this benchmark includes:

• Paying for a formal course of study for the business’s employees who are Australian citizens and Australian permanent residents or for TAFE or university students, as part of the organisational training strategy
• Funding a scholarship in a formal course of study approved under the Australian Qualifications Framework for the business’s employees who are Australian citizens and Australian permanent residents or, for TAFE or university students, as part of the organisational training strategy
• Employment of apprentices, trainees or recent graduates on an ongoing basis in numbers proportionate to the size of the business
• Employment of a person who trains the business’s Australian employees who are Australian citizens and Australian permanent residents as a key part of their job
• Evidence of payment of external providers to deliver training for Australian employees
• On-the-job training that is structured with a timeframe and clearly identified increase in the skills at each stage, and demonstrating:
  • The learning outcomes of the employee at each stage,
    How the progress of the employee will be monitored and assessed;
    How the program will provide additional and enhanced skills;
    The use of qualified trainers to develop the program and set assessments; and
    The number of people participating and their skill/occupation

Expenditure that cannot count towards this benchmark includes training that is:

• Delivered on-the-job, other than on-the-job training which meets the requirements outlined above under the heading ‘expenditure that can count towards this benchmark’
• Confined to only one or a few aspects of the business's broader operations, unless the training is in the primary business activity
• Only undertaken by persons who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents
• Only undertaken by persons who are principals in the business or their family members
• Only relating to a very low skill level having regard to the characteristics and size of the business

Employers seeking access to the 457 visa program must also have a strong record of, or demonstrated commitment to, employing local labour and non-discriminatory employment practices. This will help address concerns that some employers may discriminate against local labour in hiring overseas workers.